We announces two shows for The Lyceum 2018/19 Season: Touching the Void and Twelfth Night

A Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, Bristol Old Vic, Royal & Derngate, and Fuel co-production

Touching the Void

A new adaptation by David Greig

Based on the award-winning book by Joe Simpson
Directed by Tom Morris

The Lyceum and Bristol Old Vic are delighted to announce the world premiere of Touching the Void, based on the best-selling true story by British climber Joe Simpson, and adapted for the stage by David Greig.

Written in 1988 before becoming a film in 2003, Touching the Void recounts the astonishing true story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates’ near-fatal climb of the West Face of the Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes – a feat that had previously been attempted but never achieved, and one that would nearly cost both climbers their lives.

The heart of the novel is Joe Simpson’s mental battle as he teeters on the very brink of death and despair in a crevasse from which he can’t possibly climb to safety. Also unforgettable in the story is the appalling dilemma of Simon Yates, perched on an unstable snow-cliff, battered by freezing winds and desperate to rescue the injured Simpson, who hangs from a rope below him. Knowing that they will both ultimately fall into the void, he makes the critical decision to cut the rope, forever changing the lives of both of them.

Written for the stage by The Lyceum’s Artistic Director David Greig, whose plays include The Suppliant Women, The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, The Events, and Midsummer; Touching the Void will be directed Bristol Old Vic’s Artistic Director Tom Morris, whose past work includes Swallows & Amazons, The Grinning Man (transferring to the West End in December 2017) and the five-time Tony Award winner, War Horse.

The Lyceum’s Artistic Director David Greig said: “Touching the Void is one of the great true stories of adventure and survival. It’s a tale that has reached beyond just the climbing world and become mythological. Joe Simpson made an extraordinary choice. When it would have been easier to die, he chose to live. To make that choice he had to reach into the very depths of what it is to be human: the desire to live, love and connect to others. How do you do climbing on stage? I don’t know! Whatever we do it’s going to take a thrilling theatricality to realise this book and I can’t wait to work with Tom Morris to bring it to life. It’s an existential thriller that will have audiences clinging on to the edge of their seats. And it’s got Boney M.”

The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and Bristol Old Vic present

Twelfth Night

By William Shakespeare
Directed by Wils Wilson

A co-production between The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and Bristol Old VicTwelfth Night will open The Lyceum’s 2018/19 season before transferring to Bristol Old Vic
Directed by The Lyceum’s Associate Artist Wils Wilson, this will be the director’s first Shakespeare
With music from Welsh singer Meilyr Jones, whose debut solo album 2013 was awarded the Welsh Music Prize, last year

The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and Bristol Old Vic are delighted to announce that the first co-production between the award-winning theatres will be William Shakespeare’s hilarious and heartbreaking Twelfth Night.

Directed by The Lyceum’s Associate Artist Wils Wilson, whose work with The Lyceum includes Wind Resistance and Cockpit,Twelfth Night is a tale of unrequited love and mistaken identity, and is widely considered to be one of Shakespeare’s greatest comedies.

Mischief and mayhem abound in Illyria after twins Viola and Sebastian are separated in a shipwreck. Believing her brother to be lost forever, Viola, disguised as a man, finds herself caught between the households of the lovelorn Duke Orsino and the grieving Countess Olivia. Servants, friends and lovers entwine in a whirlwind tale of mistaken identity, misadventure and unrequited love. Will all come good in the end?

Directed by The Lyceum’s Associate Artist, Wils Wilson, Twelfth Night will open The Lyceum’s 2018 season, before transferring to Bristol Old Vic. Her third production with the theatre, following the critically acclaimed Wind Resistance and Cockpit, Wils Wilson further directed David Greig’s The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart (National Theatre of Scotland), I Want My Hat Back (National Theatre of Great Britain), Scuttlers (Manchester Royal Exchange), and Candylion (National Theatre of Wales).

Speaking of the production, Wils Wilson said: “I'm very excited and a little humbled to be directing this wonderful play. It’s Shakespeare's play of celebration and revelry - and like all good parties there are moments of joyful abandon, friendship, flirtation, fun, discovery and great live music - but also, confusion, thoughtless cruelty and embarrassment. I love the play for its warmth and wit, and also for its brilliant and fearless exploration of human frailty - it is a rich and complex world to dive into, one which plays with all the senses, and I can’t wait to explore it to the full. It is a play I have wanted to direct for a long time.”

The Lyceum’s Artistic Director David Greig said: “I adore Twelfth Night. It has all the glorious Shakespearean tropes of twins, and lost love, and misunderstood intentions but, in Malvolio, it also has one of the most gloriously human and humane portrayals of the straight man in a world of fools. Wils Wilson is a director who consistently turns the theatre into a generous and magical space of music and transformation. I’m also delighted we’ll be working with Meilyr Grifuths, who will bring a warm, fuzzy psychedelic edge to this timeless story of love and belonging”

Bristol Old Vic’s Executive Producer Chloe Elwood said: “Collaborating with other organisations is one of the joys of making work at BOV and we are thrilled to be working for the first time with our friends in Edinburgh on this glorious comedy. Wils Wilson is a bold and playful director who will bring her particular spark of genius to Shakespeare's mischievous story of identity, gender and love in all its forms. We can’t wait to welcome Wils and The Lyceum team to Bristol and our brand-new building.”